Now that the holiday madness is over and the New Year has been rung in, you’re probably getting a bad case of post-holiday fatigue. Here are five ways to get yourself out of a rut and back into the groove of things.
(Photo Credit: Adam Goode/Flickr)
1. Write your top three goals for 2014. The “rule of three” suggest that “things that come in threes are inherently […] more effective than other numbers of things,” according to Wikipedia. Therefore, you’ll want to limit your New Year’s Resolutions list to three main goals so that you don’t find yourself overwhelmed with trying to fulfill a laundry list of aspirations for 2014.
2. Exercise more. The key to improving your overall well-being is by working out, or, at the very least, getting active on a regular basis. A Harvard School of Public Health study found that, “[O]nly about 30 percent of adult Americans report they get regular physical activity during their leisure time — and about 40 percent of Americans say they get no leisure-time physical activity at all.” What’s more alarming is that “people who spend more time each day watching television, sitting, or riding in cars have a greater chance of dying early than people who spend less time on their duffs.” Sitting in your office chair for hours on end doesn’t just put a strain on your eyes; it also affects your health in the worst way. Encourage your co-workers to get off their chairs and take a walk or jog around the block with you during breaks at work.
3. Eat better. No matter how much you exercise, eating poorly can wreak havoc on your body and cause you to feel sluggish after meals. Have you ever been a victim of a “food coma” after lunch, and all you want to do is sleep? According to this Lifehacker post, sucrose (common table sugar) is the reason people are dozing off after eating a big meal, so you might want to pass on dessert or sugar-filled foods during work hours. If you do become a victim of food coma, then Lifehacker suggests doing the following three things: bend forward so that your head is at the level of your heart and repeat every few minutes, try doing some yoga, and drink plenty of water. Or, if you want to ensure that your meal doesn’t suck the life out of you, simply eat better.
4. Put down your phone. People check their phone 150 times a day: “23 times a day for messaging, 22 times for voice calls, and 18 times to get the time.” Did you know that some mothers would rather give up sex, TV, or dessert than their smartphones? Smartphones can cause a great deal of distraction in the workplace, especially with social media playing such a crucial (and addicting) role in everyday life. Phones have posed such a problem that some employers ban employees from having their cellphones out while they’re on-the-clock. It’s time to put down your phone, folks, and join the real world — regardless of how tempting it may be to see what your friends are eating for dinner on Instagram.
5. Find more me time. The stress from a job can bog you down and take a toll on your motivation, so it’s important to find time to break away from the monotony from time to time. When you take a step back and take time off, you allow yourself the opportunity to recharge and refocus, which can make all the difference in your career success.
It’s not too late to get a kick-start on the promising year ahead, so don’t fret if the post-holiday fatigue has gotten the best of you so far. This year doesn’t have to be one of broken resolutions — make 2014 your best year yet.
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